Mercury Revolutions
by Warrior of Ice
Summary: There exist 4 parallel universes where both the Shittenou and the senshi exist in one form...or another. One is Silver Millennium, two present-time, and the last AU. What happens when the senshi of Mercury in each world is switched to a different dimensio
1. Introduction: A Glimpse into Four Worlds

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of these characters; credit goes to Naoko Takeuchi, creator of Sailor Moon, & several other corporations.

_Dedication_: To Cerulean Yoshi, on her birthday. Love ya, Yosh'! ^^ Thanks for everything! 

Author's Note: 

            Ah yes...another infamous Ami/Zoi story. This time, I assure you the action, the romance, the character involvement, and the angst is x 4...how can this be?? This is my twisted, and if I may boast a bit, extremely original plot idea: there must be thousands of parallel universes out there...right? Maybe? Take four universes, and carefully transport the Ami Anderson/Mizuno Ami/Princess Ami/Sapphire of the Dark Kingdom into a different universe. Take it another step further and introduce (as if we didn't have enough mayhem and chaos on our hands) General Zoisite in all his different guises and incarnations!! And if that isn't bad enough, this isn't a planned thing either, so Pluto is on Ami's (whichever Ami it is) case all the time, trying to keep her from revealing things that she shouldn't (especially important in the Silver Millennium). 

            Be prepared for some confusion, but I'll try very hard to keep each dimension straight and give you a nice heading of the time period before we switch sections. So onto the story...the introduction, where all the dimensions are normal (for the most part) and perfectly on-track...enjoy!

            ~Ice

Chapter 1--Introduction: A Glimpse into Four Worlds 

**1st Dimension: Silver Millennium (pre-Dark Kingdom invasion)**

            Princess Ami of Mercury, current resident of the Moon Kingdom, guardian of Princess Serenity, and defending warrior of her planet, couldn't recall a time when her life had been better. She thoroughly enjoyed her position as the Mercury senshi, and she even liked her daily routine on the Moon, which involved: early morning training; breakfast with the queen (when she was present), the princess, and her friends; the morning spent in ambassadorial meetings; lunch at the royal university; manning the communications' port every second day and the shuttle landing station every fifth day (on the days she didn't have these duties, she had legislative sessions with the Moon Council and free time for her own pursuits) and training every single day during the afternoon hours; a formal dinner with all the politicians and officials currently in attendance at the Moon Court; and an informal gathering with the other princesses and the queen's advisors (Luna and Artemis) directly afterwards. For the remainder of the night, she was left to her own devices. This usually meant haunting the spectacular Lunar Library after-hours.

            Life was going beautifully. She had no disagreements with her friends at the moment, her skills as a senshi were progressing wonderfully, the queen had recently complimented her about a successfully negotiation she had recently completed...and she was in love. Shy, belittled, introverted Ami had blossomed under the attentions of the brash, reckless, ruddy-haired General Zoisite of Earth. It mattered quite a bit to her that such relations between a princess and a Terran general were strictly forbidden, but she had decided, for the time being and with the coercion of her friends, to forget about those restrictions. Besides, the generals were currently–along with their charge, Prince Endymion–on a diplomatic mission, which required them to reside in the Moon Palace for an indefinite period of time. 

            Ami smiled happily to herself as she strolled through the palace corridors, her cheeks blushing lightly as she remembered the lilies Zoisite had had delivered to her room that very morning. She remembered, just then, that she had promised Mina her notes on the last conference she had held with the Uranian embassy. Mina had stayed behind in the training room after their early morning practice, presumably to revise her training approaches. When the blue-haired princess had asked her where she would be, so she could deliver the desired notices, Mina had absentmindedly replied that she would be in the training room until breakfast and that Ami could drop by any time. 

            She hurried back to her room for the thick sheaf of papers that she had meticulously prepared the night before. On her way back to the training room, she happened to look out the windows facing the gardens: lo and behold, there were Princess Lita of Jupiter and General Nephrite of Earth. Lita always liked gardening in the early morning, but lately, she'd been having trouble waking up early enough to work with her plants before Mina's practices. Ami secretly suspected that it was because Nephrite had been coaxing her to spend late nights with him in the astrodome as he furthered her knowledge of astronomy, his favorite subject. She halted her steps, her eyes wide, as she saw Lita playfully lob a clump of dirt at the brown-haired general. He grinned widely, wiped off the mud, and chased after her. Her last view of the pair, before she hurried on, was Nephrite pinning the Jovian princess against a shadowy wall; he glanced around discreetly before he took her face in his hands and kissed her–"punishment" for her earthy attack on him. 

            Shaking her head, although her smile was undiminished in its brightness, Ami paused outside the training room. Sure enough, Mina was inside–in plain view, of course, but her charts and papers seemed to have been abandoned in a recent pursuit of...General Kunzite. Her mouth dropped open in shock as she watched the stiff, stern general laughing his head off as he held something she couldn't quite see high above his head. The Venusian princess was jumping up and down in front of him, trying to reach it–but of course, the task was impossible. Mina was of average height, for a woman, and Kunzite was at least a foot taller than the average man. At last, she gave up on that method...she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him directly on the lips. Ami giggled softly to herself as she saw Kunzite's cheeks darken, but he put his arms around the blonde's waist. Mina drew back immediately and snatched the coveted object from him, smiling triumphantly. He merely shook his head and drew her in for another kiss. Ami decided that she had better give Mina her papers during breakfast rather than risk interrupting them...

            Finally, she headed for the temples, located in a secluded part of the palace. Few people, no matter how devout they claimed to be, were willing to show their devotion to the divinities at this hour, but Ami knew of one person who would most definitely be there: Rei, the Martian princess. If Rei hadn't been born a princess, her calling in life would have been a priestess. Yet again, another shocking event arrested her. Just before she reached the beaded curtain outside the shrine dedicated to Mars, god of fire and Rei's planetary patron, she heard a feminine voice alternating between giggling and scolding.

            "Stop–stop it, Jade! They'll hear us!"

            A male voice, amused and drawling, replied, "Who exactly do you think is as reverent of the gods as you, my beautiful, saintly princess?"

            Ami instantly identified the speakers. The woman, of course, was none other than Rei, who had chased away all her suitors with her fiery temper–and was currently doing something other than praying in the Martian shrine with the one man she _hadn't_ been able to get rid of. And the aforementioned "Jade" could be none other than General Jadeite. Ami hoped there would be no more earth-shattering shocks that morning; she didn't think she could take any more. She peeked cautiously around the doorframe to see Rei, her arms folded across her chest, glaring up at Jadeite, looking breathless and disheveled. 

            The blond-haired general was grinning roguishly, and he remarked, "I didn't know you were so ticklish, Rei. If I'd known it would bring down your defenses so quickly, I would've tried it sooner. As it so happens, there's a ball coming up tomorrow night. I won't schedule a repeat of our little tickling fight if you agree to go with me." His tone changed from impish to suave and charming, and Ami quickly ducked out of sight. 

            Her skirts had made a soft rustling sound, and Rei's sharp ears had picked up the noise. "Now you've done it, Jade!" she exclaimed.

            "Done what?" he asked innocently...

            Sighing blissfully, the smile on her face becoming a grin, Ami almost skipped through the maze of hallways towards the dining hall. It seemed, however, that fate had more surprises in store for her that morning. The unpleasant shock involved her attempting to take a side entrance into the dining hall rather than through the main doors. Ami never liked attracting too much attention, so she always preferred to slip in that way. 

            Unfortunately, she managed to catch Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity in a passionate embrace. They both looked up guiltily at her astonished cry, and she and Serenity flushed simultaneously. Endymion, meanwhile, helped the Moon Princess up from the ground, where she had tumbled in fright when Ami had entered. He smiled cordially at the newcomer and greeted, "Good morning, Ami. You wouldn't mind telling the queen for us that we'll be just another few minutes, would you?"

            She hastily replied in the affirmative and backed out, her face burning scarlet. It seemed she would have to go through the main doors after all. Just as she reached for the handle of the gilded doors, she was enveloped from behind in a warm embrace. She would have cried out in surprise if one of her captor's hands hadn't covered her mouth. Ami twisted around indignantly, and her cerulean blue eyes widened when they met teasing, twinkling green. "Zoisite!" she exclaimed when he removed his hand, still entangled in his arms. 

            "Good morning," he said nonchalantly, kissing her on the tip of her nose.

            "You know I hate being taken unawares! You always sneak up on me!"

            He smiled incorrigibly and released her. "I couldn't resist the golden opportunity when it presented itself to me," Zoisite replied. Before she could further reprimand him, the coppery-haired general leaned down and captured her lips with his, kissing her thoroughly until they were both out of breath. He pulled back, grinned charmingly, and opened the door. "After you, milady."

            They strolled in together, and Queen Selenity looked up from a letter she had been reading and smiled in welcome. "Good morning Ami, General Zoisite." After they had greeted her, she said, "I can't imagine where everyone is. Usually all of you are here by now; I wonder what's going on today. You don't happen to know where the rest of our company is, do you?"

            Ami giggled uncharacteristically as Zoisite pulled out her seat for him. As he seated himself beside her, he replied in a solemn tone that only served to further their amusement, "I imagine they're a bit delayed this morning, your highness." He grinned and reached out to take Ami's hand, and a light blush spread over her cheeks. 

            Noticing their preoccupation with each other, Selenity raised her eyebrows and asked, "How did you happen to come in at the same time? Were you doing something together earlier this morning?"

            Ami was at a loss for what to say, but Zoisite's mischievous grin grew wider as his grip on her hand tightened. "Oh, no...we met outside the doors just now." 

            The queen turned her attention back to her papers, and Ami and Zoisite helped themselves to the dishes set out on the long table. Slowly, the other princesses and generals trickled in...in twos. First Serenity and Endymion entered (one of the Moon Princess's meatballs was crooked), followed soon after by Rei and Jadeite, looking flushed and out of breath (although that could be attributed to the fact that they heard her arguing with him just outside the doors before they came in through them). 

            Nephrite came in next, looking serious. His pensive look disappeared when Lita hurried into the dining hall, wearing a different gown than she had originally intended to wear today, and he grinned devilishly at her. 

            Last to arrive were Mina and Kunzite, and no one commented on how Kunzite's normally-immaculate appearance had changed into a less distinguished-looking one: his gray uniform shirt was no longer tucked into his pants, and his long silver hair did not possess its usual, painful straightness. Mina had every hair perfectly in place, but the brilliant smile on her face never faded during the morning meal. 

            As soon as Queen Selenity had left for an early council meeting, they all burst out laughing, and life was good.

**2nd Dimension: Tokyo, Present-Time (post-Silver Millennium fall) {Original Season}**

            It was a normal day in Juuban district...there had been the usual youma attack, rush-hour traffic jams, and detention given to one Tsukino Usagi during school. Said meatball-headed senshi of the Moon, present incarnation of Princess Serenity, was currently making a lot of noise in the bushes of their local park, giggling madly as she spied on the first senshi she had discovered and befriended in this life. With her were Makoto, who was making most of the rustling noises as she tried to fit her tall frame behind the hedge, Minako, her partner in crime and the one who had called everyone to make sure they turned out to witness this momentous event, and Rei, whose face was red as she crouched on Usagi's right side. "Move over, meatball head! I can't see anything with your meatballs in the way!"

            Kumada Yuuichirou, rock-star idol and hopelessly-in-love admirer of Rei, snickered as Usagi whined, "You could've just _asked_ me to move... You don't have to be so mean, Rei!"

            Mina sighed. "Will you two shut up? We're missing the best part!"

            Burying her face in Ryo's shirt, the blue-haired girl whispered to her boyfriend, "Are we ever going to get rid of them?" 

            For the whole afternoon, the pair had commuted from school (Usagi had gotten detention when the group had been spying on them...Ami and Ryo had been trying to get some early studying in before class started...Usagi had lost her balance and smacked into the window panes), to the mall (they had left when they felt sneaky eyes from the shoppers ducking into and out of the shops behind them), to the arcade (where Serena announced their presence by shrieking loudly when she spotted the new video game), and all over Juuban. They were finally in the park, but it seemed that Minako, Rei, and Makoto  had caught up to them-again.

            Shrugging helplessly, Urawa Ryo replied, "I don't think it's worth going someplace else this time, Ami-chan. Actually, I'm surprised Yuuichirou hasn't shown up yet."

            "Uh....hey, Ryo!! Don't worry man, I'm finally here to support your cause!"

            "Yuuichirou, you idiot!" Rei hissed, her raven hair fall all over her face as she knelt lower in mortification. Ami was going to murder them at the next senshi meeting.

            "But hey, man, another one of those evil youma dudes could be hiding right around the corner, and you'd be so busy doing-"

            A resounding smack was dealt to him, and Rei shoved him aside and smiled sweetly at her friends. "Don't you think we'd better be going now?"

            They laughed nervously as Ami shot them an evil glare...and it was all part of a typical day in Juuban for the senshi who would save the world: fighting youma, going shopping, playing video games, and spying on Ami and Ryo all mixed together.

**3rd Dimension: Present-Time (post-second Dark Kingdom invasion) {Season R}**

            Ami Anderson hurried home from school, her normally-serene features twisted in anger and annoyance. That–that–that unspeakable excuse for a person had actually been reborn! He had showed up with that evil (a different kind of evil than he'd been during the Dark Kingdom invasions), too-handsome-for-his-own good grin during her first period class. In the flesh. Living and breathing. The last time Ami had thought about him, she had assumed that he was dust, other nasty particles, and most importantly, dead!

            And if that hadn't been bad enough, he had had the audacity to flirt with her! Ami had never been more embarrassed, and to top it all off, all the girls (except the other senshi, who weren't in her class) had been jealous of her for ensnaring the attention of the new guy. They were already sore about her good grades, but Ami thought this was a ridiculous issue for them to be upset over. 

            Zoisite, or "Zachary Crystal," as he proclaimed himself, had made her day go from bad, to awful, to horrible. He had shown up in every single one of her classes. Some of the other reborn generals had been in attendance, as well: Jadeite, his joker's grin plastered firmly in place (he was masquerading as "Jed Aura"), Nephrite as "Nevin Starre," acting serious and well-mannered, and Kunzite (alias "Kenneth Silverstone"), still silver-haired and stony-faced. Just when she'd thought she could be finished with swim practice and go home, stew, and rage with the other senshi about the current state of affairs, Zachary had shown up in his swim trunks and with the intention of joining the swim team. She wanted to...kill herself, or do something equally drastic.

            "Hey! Ami! Wait up!"

            She whirled around–it couldn't be him, and yet...it was. What was his problem?! How did he manage to find her _every single moment_ of the day?! Did he have built-in radar that alerted him whenever she was anywhere near him? "Go away! I don't want to have anything to do with you! Leave me alone! Isn't it bad enough the way things are?"

            Zach skidded to a stop a few feet away from her, the effervescent grin on his face fading. Looking sorrowfully at her, he sighed. The portion of him that was General Zoisite murmured, 'Sorry, love.' Taking out the textbook she had left in the girls' locker room and he had rescued (one of the girls on the team had brought it out, asking loudly whether anyone wanted to give it to its owner. She had, sniggering meanly, dumped it into the lost-and-found, where no one ever looked), he handed it to her silently. 

            Ami's ocean-blue eyes conveyed her confusion and distress; they were brimming with tears and anguish. She retrieved her property, muttered a thank you, and walked away from him as rapidly as could. 

            He stood on the street, watching her retreating form for several minutes before turning away, shaking his head sadly. If he'd known it was going to be this hard to get back into her good graces, he might have preferred staying dead...and then Zach's emerald eyes came back to life. It was no good thinking like that. He loved her. He would always love her. He would just have to try harder tomorrow.

**4th Dimension: Alternate Universe (post-fall of Silver Millennium, before the first strike of the restored Dark Kingdom)**

            "General Zoisite! General Jadeite! General Nephrite! General Kunzite! Report AT ONCE!!" Beryl screeched, while four other grey-uniformed girls winced and made an effort not to cover their ears.

            Topaz, running a gloved hand through shimmering, saffron-hued hair, glanced at her three companions and telepathed, 'Why do they get the title of 'general' and we don't?'

            Although her expression remained unruffled, as if it had been carved out of stone, they could all sense Ruby's evil mental grin. Her fiery temper went well with her flame-red locks and scarlet eyes. 'Precedence from bedroom duties to Beryl?' she suggested in an innocent tone.

            'You are just too much,' Emerald of the green hair and eyes commented, amusement coloring her tone.

            Before Sapphire could add a comment of her own, the four strikingly handsome generals entered the throne room, each with one gloved hand placed diagonally across their chests as tribute to their queen. Zoisite, Sapphire's chief rival and hated enemy, teleported into the throne room, accompanied by his customary swirl of cherry blossoms, which vanished the instant his shiny boots hit the polished, dark tiles. 

            An intense azure blue sphere appeared and grew rapidly larger until it took up the whole room, blinding everyone until it popped. In its place was Jadeite, smiling complacently. The other three girls could all feel Ruby's annoyance at his cockiness swelling up inside of her, faster than Jadeite's teleportation globe had been expanding. Sapphire hoped, inwardly, that she wouldn't lash out at the blond-haired general until Queen Beryl had dismissed them.

            A millisecond later, blazing stars bounced off the walls while the room's occupants ducked, hearing whooshes as the sharp-edged stars just missed them. The auburn-haired gen materialized, bowing deeply to his unappreciative audience. 

            Kunzite simply appeared, wearing his usual, stoical, unimpressed expression. Trying to refrain from rolling her eyes, the blue-haired girl directed her attention towards her redheaded queen.

            "NEPHRITE!! JADEITE!" she screeched angrily. Both flinched at the sound of her voice, inclining their heads briefly in apology. Slightly placated, she smoothed her ruffled hair, although it didn't make much of a difference in her audience's eyes. The Negaverse Queen's odd, greenish-yellow eyes roved around the room for a few minutes as she remained silent, trying to create a dramatic effect. It failed, for the two groups were furiously telepathing amongst themselves, criticizing and badmouthing the members of their counterparts. Even Sapphire participated in the conversation, putting in a few disparaging comments about Zoisite's hair color and flower petals.

            Finally, Beryl smiled, showing her fangs. The light glinted off them unpleasantly, and her servitors came to attention–especially General Kunzite and Captain Topaz, who were trying outdo each other in neatness, efficiency, and...posture? The beautiful, golden-haired woman–despite her best efforts–was losing the battle because of the height she had been destined to be, but her spine was proudly erect, her chin high in the air. 

            "I have a mission for you...it has been brought to my attention that you are not getting along with each other. Need I remind you that cooperation is necessary for our invasion of Earth? _Particularly_ because it has no defenders now." She grinned evilly, and the jewel-named women felt a nervous brush of anxiety. They possessed no memories of their lives before the day they had woken up to find themselves in the Dark Kingdom, sworn to the queen and introduced to her four generals, whom they had hated upon sight and further meetings. Nevertheless, the brief feeling of wrongness subsided, and their cool masks were firmly back in place.

            "My solution is this: you must gain experience in working together, but because you refuse to voluntarily do this, I have been forced to pair you up to work on some projects." Looks of horror swept across ten faces simultaneously, but the dark queen ignored them. Interrupting the impending silence, she barked, "General Kunzite!" He came forth obediently, and she ordered, "Captain Topaz, step forward." The girl who had been called Minako Aino in another life followed her orders, repressing the urge to give him a look of deep hatred. "You two will commence charting out our invasion plans right down to the last detail of the last attack; is that clear?" They nodded sullenly and stepped back in place. 

            The same thing happened two more times, with General Jadeite and Ensign Ruby and General Nephrite and Sergeant Emerald. Jadeite and Rei Hino were commanded to oversee an important construction project concerning the rebuilding of a barrier that had recently crumbled away because of old age. Beryl wanted there to be no cracks left unwatched in her kingdom, just in case the prince and princess awoke. Those nasty Lunar guardians were still running around on Earth, up to no good, most likely. Ruby had not been able to keep herself from showing him her enmity, but Jadeite had merely showed all his sparkling white teeth in a malicious grin, further provoking her. 

            Nephrite and Makoto Kino had the task of training the youma army. Sapphire pitied them as she waited silently for her own orders. The youma were, bluntly, pathetic. They had no stamina, none of them were particularly gifted, and she was amazed that for creatures who possessed brains approximately the size of a human's, they were incredibly stupid. 

            Then, her stomach lurched unpleasantly as she looked straight into the eyes of General Zoisite, the only general left standing across from her who had not been told his duty. He was leering at her, and she closed her eyes in disgust. She hated him, she despised him, she–no. She had to remain calm. She wasn't giving him the satisfaction of seeing her angry. Ami Mizuno became ice then, and when she opened her eyes, they were a glittering, dangerous blue. 

            "Ah, and last of all, we have General Zoisite and Lieutenant Sapphire." Lieutenant Sapphire wanted to strangle her. "You have the esteemed job of perfecting the explosives and checking all of the technical equipment. You'll be wanting to start that right away," she smiled malevolently. They had the most difficult task of all, because the assignment was so lengthy and long. There were at least fifty storerooms full of various devices and instruments they had to look over. 

            Topaz foresaw an opportunity to get rid of Kunzite while they were working together...alone... It'd be so satisfactory, she thought, to give him a good stab in heart and get it over with. Ruby was entertaining herself with an image of a gigantic cement block smashing down onto Jadeite's blond head. Even his thick skull couldn't withstand that, she thought smugly. Emerald was hoping that one–or several–of the idiotic youma would misfire their attacks and that Nephrite would have an "accident." She made a note to talk to Ruby, so she could ask if her red-haired friend had any advice for instigating said sad, sad event. Even Sapphire had dark thoughts for Zoisite. She was wondering of any of the explosives could be wired to go off suddenly...preferably when she wasn't in the room with him, of course.

            "WELL?! What are you waiting for? Get out of my sight!! By this time tomorrow morning, you had all better be working with each other–and nicely now, children." She bared her fangs at them. "We don't want any 'accidental killings' now, do we?" They were all wishing that an intentional murder could happen this moment–to her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AN: And there you have it...the beginning of a frightening, wonderful story.


	2. The Big Bang

Chapter 2-The Big Bang

**1st Dimension: Silver Millennium (pre-Dark Kingdom invasion)**

            Unfortunately, it had been necessary for the Inners and the Shittenou to part their respective ways after breakfast. Ami had headed for her first meeting of the day, located in the south wing of the palace. Everything had gone downhill from there. Although it had been a lovely start to the day, it seemed that Ami was doomed to meet frustration after frustration. 

            The Uranian ambassador refused to come to terms with the fact that no matter how much he argued, Uranus was not going to get special preference regarding the shipping of Mercurian stingray, which was considered a delicacy. It was a very expensive delicacy, and the smell and sight of it cooked made Ami nauseous. A museum curator from Mars forcibly requested the removal of several Martian artifacts from the Lunari museums, Venus reported the need for a rare piece of equipment to replace a broken section of one of their teleportation stations...and the most awkward situation of all was when a Saturnine noble refused to compromise unless she agreed to marry him. 

            He had gone down on his knees in the middle of the Pearl Conference Room (south wing, room one hundred and twelve, exactly twenty two kilometers from the center of the palace) and proposed to her. She didn't know when her cheeks had been redder, but she tried to handle the situation with much more dignity than she felt she had left. The only good thing about the incident was that Zoisite wasn't there. Despite the fact that their relationship was supposed to be nonexistent and that the entire court knew about it anyway (it was inappropriate for the Saturnine duke to have proposed to a woman who was not unattached), the rash general would probably have leapt from his seat and throttled him. 

            Mina and ringing of the noon bell had relieved Ami of her duties for the morning, and it was with undisguised gratitude that she left for the royal university. She had taken many classes there, and she liked dining with the professors. They always had interesting developments to discuss (usually scientific and technological), and it was highly unlikely that any of them would ask her hand in marriage. Lunch was enjoyable and informative, and she was able to unwind a bit from her stressful morning. 

            The ruthless commander in Mina had declared an extra training session for two of them that afternoon (Rei would be in charge of the communications' port and Lita at the shuttle landing station), so Ami was about to change from her formal court dress to a white shirt and tan slacks when she was summoned by one of the technicians. The pet project of one of the university's oldest (and most eccentric) professors had something to do with portals, teleportation, and time traveling. Ami had warned them that time traveling was Pluto's domain, but they assured her that they would check with the senshi of Time when the machine was perfected. She wasn't quite sure she wanted to have anything do with the questionable contraption, but the technician looked so overworked and perplexed that she agreed. 

            As she followed the young redhead to the room, Ami looked down at her elaborate sapphire gown and shook her head. The girl explained, with a shy smile, that it was only a matter of replacing this converter with that device and that ordinarily, she would have handled it, but her supervisor had said it was delicate work and told her to ask for help. Possibly the only intimidating feature about Ami was her title, and she was often investigating the newest procedures in the labs, so most of the workers there were familiar with her.

            The technician left for her meager lunch break while Ami changed into the protective clothing she would need to work on the apparatus. Although the uniform looked plain, there were a lot of shielding mechanisms in the material. She smiled slightly as she looked down at herself: in the gray, long-sleeved shirt with its high collar and matching pants, she resembled a Shittenou–slightly. Of course their uniforms were more formal and had bright embroidery, but just thinking about Zoisite brought a smile to her face. 

            Within minutes, Ami was absorbed with the task at hand. She didn't notice the malfunctioning generator in the corner, whistling to itself unobtrusively, and she couldn't smell the noxious smoke through her mask. Her minicomputer beeped a quiet warning, but the machine she was fixing gave a deafening groan. She didn't notice a thing until smoke began obscuring her vision, and she coughed violently as she stumbled towards the door. Before she reached it, however, a loud explosion was heard, and all went black.

**2nd Dimension: Tokyo, Present-Time (post-Silver Millennium fall) {Original Season}**

            "Why is that youma...throwing clocks at us?"

            "That's a very good question, Lita. I don't know," Rei replied as she pulled out her transformation wand, "but it's disturbing."

            "I'll say," Venus muttered under her breath, watching screaming pedestrians run from the giant clocks that were smashing into the pavement. "Ready, Mars?"

            "Aren't we missing someone?" Jupiter interjected.

            Sailor Moon made the scene just then, huffing and puffing as she ran up to them. "Sorry I'm late!!" she chirped. "Wow, is it just me, or is–"

            "–that youma throwing big clocks around? No, meatball head; for once, you're not in dreamworld."

            She stuck her tongue out at the raven-haired senshi. "That wasn't what I was going to say, Rei! But now that you mention it, those clocks look really deranged. They don't even have numbers on them! I was going to say, though, that Ami's late!"

            The other three sailors turned to where they expected the last member of their team to be and shared an incredulous look. It was so easy to overlook her sometimes: she was so quiet, but she was always in the right place at the right time. They had just assumed she would be there, as usual.

            Decidedly, Jupiter said, "She's probably still with Greg. Let's leave them alone and go and trash this thing!"

            Venus sweatdropped. "Okay..you guys go ahead and I'll contact Ami. If she's not with Greg, which is more than likely, she should be here. And if she's really with Greg, that's no excuse. We need her here. Anyway, if I was her, I'd want to be rescued from Greg."

            "Mina!"

            "What??" she shrugged, an innocent expression on her face. "He's sort of...dull. He's nice. But dull. Ami needs something in her life to make it exciting, and Greg's not doing it."

            Just then, a shout made all four them swerve around, and they saw Mercury running towards them, holding her supercomputer in one hand and trying to activate her visor with the other. The youma also saw her, and the other senshi's attacks were too late to stop the humongous clock headed her way. It swallowed her up in the dark, swirling depths of its eerily blank face. Almost immediately, a burst of light swelled up and shot outwards with a sound like a shot, blinding all those present. When the light faded, all sign of Sailor Mercury and the youma had disappeared...

**3rd** **Dimension: Present-Time (post-second Dark Kingdom invasion) {Season R}**

            Ami resisted the urge to throw her recently-reclaimed textbook across the room. She had just survived a day of hell, and now her communicator was beeping?! Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she waited until she was absolutely sure she wouldn't go berserk on whichever unlucky victim...friend...was alerting her. 

            Surprisingly enough, it wasn't her communicator that was making that infernal noise–it was her supercomputer. Ami frowned as she picked it up and inspected it carefully. She hadn't known it could make sounds...she wished she knew more about the device. 

            The screen began glowing blue as it sensed her touch, and a message was scrawled across the screen: _Space and time distortion. Caution: disruption likely_.

            'Space and time distortion?' she wondered. She understood the time part...somewhat. But the space? Did that apply to distance or the actual universe they were in? And what exactly did "disruption likely" mean? The Mercury senshi's blue eyes were narrowed in thought as she looked pensively at the minicomputer. 

            Flashing red text caught her eye, and she focused again upon the screen, which now read: _Location – Juuban park_... It went on to give her the exact coordinates of the park on a small map, but Ami didn't need them. She hadn't lived her entire life in Juuban, where almost everything was in walking distance, to not know where the district's only park was. 

            She didn't bother leaving a note for her mother explaining that she had gone it. It seemed probable that her mother wouldn't even be back by the time Ami returned from checking out the disturbance. She was halfway down a flight of stairs when she recalled, belatedly, that she had left her communicator on her night table.

            About to turn back to retrieve it, Ami's attention was drawn to louder beeping sounds her computer was emitting. It seemed that the matter had become more urgent; the space/time continuum was getting larger by the minute. Her footsteps pounded loudly in the stairwell, and she raced outside, her short hair bouncing in agitation.

            She was trying not to run into any people, but all of a sudden, a large solidness planted itself in her path. She was about to go around it when a projection of that solid form extended with frightening speed to grab her arm. Ami was halted in her path, and when she could make out the details of her delayer's face, she glared at him. "I don't have time to deal with you now, Zach!" 

            As she shoved him aside and continued along in a mad rush, he stared after her with a dazed smile. "She called me Zach," he remarked to no one in particular, a note of wonderment in his voice. When he remembered to breathe again, he also recovered some of his sense. 'I better go see what she's up to.' Zachary followed her but at a more sedate speed. 

            Bemusedly, he thought to himself, 'Ami's changed a lot from the Silver Millennium. She was never this...temperamental. Or in such a rush.' Of course, Zachary Crystal of the present day and General Zoisite of the past had conveniently forgotten that during their quarrels, Ami had been as meek as mountain lion. She defended her values, her beliefs, and those she loved with all her heart–and it didn't heart that the arguments of her rational mind were often flawless.

            There was no room for hesitation or shyness when one was a senshi. Insecurity always played a role off the battlefield–for any warrior–but Mercury had always been able to present a bold face when she was needed as a protector of the peace. 

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            Ami reached the park, still in civilian form, and halted when she noticed the large ripple of space. It looked slightly like the distortion of air around a fire...only intensified about twenty times. The other problem was the fact that there was no fire. She rubbed her eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on her–was it time to get contacts? The smear of air resembled a tall oval in shape, about the size of an old-fashioned, full-length mirror. 

            Against her better judgement, she remained untransformed and reached out a hand, as if mesmerized, to touch the oval. The transparency quivered, and blue shimmers began to color the air. However, the first sensation she'd noticed had been one of extreme cold. She tried to yank her hand back immediately, but it seemed to be stuck. She stood there panicking for a few seconds, and her anxiety only increased when she saw that her hand was becoming clear as crystal and lit with blue sparkles, like the rest of the oval. 

            Her frenzied struggle to pull her arm free became more and more difficult, and Ami realized, all of a sudden, that she was being sucked into the circle of air. She had no time to cry out before she disappeared completely from sight; her eyes closed against the brilliant light as she hurtled through time and space to a dimension parallel to hers...one that she was never supposed to have intersected.

**            4th Dimension: Alternate Universe (post-fall of Silver Millennium, before the first strike of the restored Dark Kingdom)**

            Sapphire left the throne room by a more conventional means: teleporting was useful, but it was flashy and took energy. She preferred to use her own two feet to get where she needed–unlike Zoisite, who could never be bothered to do anything that would mess up his perfect hair. Her lips compressed at the thought of the infuriating general.

            Their problems had begun when Sapphire, newly-awoken in the Dark Kingdom without any memory of her life before, had been under Zoisite's wing. He hadn't been _nice_–nothing in the Dark Kingdom was _nice_–but there was something that had begun to draw her to him. And why not? She could admit his handsomeness...on her good days...and his skill...when he wasn't throwing about his magic like there was no tomorrow...and his charm–but that was rarest of all, because Sapphire's view was that most of the time, he acted like a complete ass.

            Her very, very slight inclination to him had been nipped in the bud when she had discovered that while he would hit on anything that had remotely feminine features or anatomy, he was completely intent upon ignoring her. Any of her attempts to get to know him had been coldly rebuked. A woman's pride is a dangerous thing to wound. Zoisite had been determined to keep his distance, and her defensive annoyance had led to rivalry and bitter anger. 

            Thinking about their early encounters made Sapphire dig her nails into her palms, and she sighed when she examined the red marks. _Nothing_ and _no one_ got to her–ever. Except General Zoisite. And she was damned if she was ever going to let him know that.

            "Hello, Lieutenant," he said smoothly, appearing to float two feet above her.

            She halted her tracks, and once she got over her initial surprise, she was irritated enough to hope that the microorganisms that proliferated in the dark, dank, _low_ hallways of the Dark Kingdom would result in some kind of hair fungus. Sapphire smiled inwardly. She so hoped it would be ringworm. The mental image almost made her laugh, but she had enough control to suppress it. She just hoped the devious sparkle didn't show in her eyes. Because of her amusing thoughts, she was able to respond to his challenge coolly. "Good day, _Zoisite_. What may I do for you?"

            "Tsk, tsk," he scolded, hovering along beside her. "I didn't expect such blatant insubordination from you, Sapphire. You should address me as 'General.'"

            Her fingers were itching to close around his neck and squeeze tightly, but Sapphire exercised her sizeable self-restraint by sticking them firmly into her pockets. In a dulcet tone, she replied, "If we're going to be working together, we should be on equal terms, wouldn't you say, General?"

            He grimaced at the mention of their task and landed with a soft thump on the moss-covered ground next to her. She turned to smile at him, and he hid his nervousness as he met her stare for stare. Sapphire _never_ smiled...and the thought was so frightening, it made his heart race. Or perhaps that was the startling...prettiness it had given to her face. 'No!! No!! Completely off-track! Absolutely impossible!' Zoisite berated himself. 'How could you have thought something like that?'

            "You're losing your touch, Zoisite. A few months ago, you wouldn't have made any sound landing. Or perhaps you've been spending too much time in the air? If I were you, General, I'd make sure I spent enough time land-bound. Your _fluttering_ is having a negative effect on your hair." Her smile was sweetly poisonous as she flicked a speck of imagined dust off her uniform and stalked off, leaving him behind.

            Zoisite spent a few minutes fussing before his hand mirror, making sure not a hair was out of place before he intercepted her again. "You weren't going to go off without me, now, were you?" he asked with his most winning smile.

            Sapphire wondered how long it would be before the urge to kill him became too strong for her to resist. Considering how annoying he was being (on a scale of one to ten, she rated him ten million), it would be less time than she'd originally thought. "Actually, the plan was for me to leave you in pieces _after_ inflicting torture through dissection _without _anaesthesia, but if you have a more painful alternative, General, I'd be absolutely delighted to hear it." 

            She waited for the stunned look to spread across his face before her own words hit her. The color began draining from her face as she wondered what had possessed her to say such a thing out loud... He was one of Beryl's highly-esteemed generals. She was a lowly lieutenant who no one trusted. The queen seemed to hate her and her three comrades. Would she end up dying–or worse–because of her inability to hold her tongue?? Sapphire held her breath, but to her immense surprise, Zoisite laughed uproariously. 

            When he got himself under control, he grasped her hand in his. It was unusually warm for a Dark Kingdom dweller, where everything was cold and wet, and he was wearing gloves. The color raced back into her cheeks as she looked straight into his eyes. Why hadn't she ever noticed how green his eyes were? 

            His voice held a hint of dry humor as he drawled, "So the score is now Sapphire one, Zoisite nothing, isn't it? I commend you, my dear lieutenant." 

            He continued to hold her hand–and her eyes–as he continued, "Although I wouldn't suggest that you don't try your luck with the other Shittenou. They don't have the same sense of humor we seem to share. Besides...I wouldn't want any of them to suddenly realize, as I just have, how attractive you can be when you're riled up. I like a woman with spirit, Sapphire."

            For her part, she was beginning to feel unsettled. Very unsettled. The ease and laziness in the long lines of his form belied the lithe agility she knew resided there. Zoisite was dangerous, and it wasn't just because of his fighting skills–he was looking at her with an almost predatory look on his face, and she drew her fingers from his hold quickly. 

            Sapphire began to walk more rapidly, trying to increase the distance between them, but he kept up with her easily. She cursed the shortness of her legs. Just as she reached her room, Zoisite slipped ahead of her so that he blocked the entranceway. The blue-haired woman glowered at him crossly and crossed her arms. "Are you planning to move anytime soon?" she asked.

            Thoughtfully, he said, "Well...if I said no, what would you do about it?"

            Making a frustrated sound in the back of her throat, Sapphire turned on her heel and stalked away. She could head for Ruby's quarters. The only person Ruby hated more than Zoisite was Jadeite, and if Zoisite liked women with _spirit_, he could try hitting on Ruby. The end result would probably be her hitting him...

            "We're not finished, Sapphire."

            She turned around, resentment plain on her face. "Ask me if I care, Zoisite."

            He strode up to her and pinned her against the wall in a fluid movement so fast that it frightened her. Her eyes were huge as she stared up at him, the shadows turning their usual medium blue to midnight darkness. Silkily, he said, "When I tell you we haven't concluded business, Sapphire, you don't walk away from me. You've been in the Dark Kingdom long enough–learn your lesson soon or you might have it taught to you in a way you might not like. Understand my meaning?"

            She closed her eyes, and the dusky lashes fluttered upon her porcelain skin. He drew in a sharp breath, and she braced herself, waiting for his blow. Topaz could probably have turned the situation to her advantage. Ruby would have socked him by now. Emerald's views on egotistical chauvinists would have blistered her ears. 

            When nothing happened, Sapphire opened her eyes cautiously. Neither of them moved a muscle, and it seemed like time had frozen–for a split second. Zoisite released her and strode away without another word. She sagged against the wall in relief, her knees going weak. She didn't notice as her support started to give way. Walls tended to be spongy, not solid, in the Dark Kingdom. He had shocked her twice in one day, and she had only surprised him once. Another time, she would think of proper retaliation. But for now...

            'Certain areas of the Dark Kingdom tend to...shift around. Watch your step, Sapphire.' She bit her lip at the memory. Why was did it have to be his voice, mocking and arrogant, in her mind? 

            'Things are very unstable here. Our time and space overlap with parallel dimensions, Sapphire. Be careful.' She smiled at that, not noticing that the inky darkness around her was oozing and contracting. It was strange that basically the same thing said in a different tone of voice by a different person was much more reassuring. They were Topaz's words, said in her high, sweet voice. 

            Sapphire began feeling sleepy, and her eyelids began drooping shut. She realized something was going wrong when she struggled to stay awake. Her arms flailed uselessly, and when her eyes opened at last, it appeared that she was about to impact a painfully solid plane. The resounding bang rang in her ears shrilly, and the building pressure inside her head finally became too much: she fell into uneasy unconsciousness.

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AN: *grins* You don't get to find out who goes where until next chapter...oh, right. I was supposed to clear up some confusion here ^^;; All the Amis are not going to one universe (but wow, universe 4 seems to be popular. It's my favorite too ^.~), they're all going to be switched. For example, Princess Ami could go to...the second universe, and another Ami would take her place and find herself in the Silver Millennium (ack!!)...and they all switch around.

            But thank you everyone, for all the wonderful responses to the first chapter!! ^^

Water Dragon: Wow, thanks for the compliments and the enthusiasm! ^^

Mandy: I'm really happy to hear that you visit my page :) Hope you like it!

Wingnut: Thank you!

Cherrystarr: Haven't heard from you in a while...but then again, I haven't been to Shittenou in a while ^^;; How're you doing? Glad you like this story ^^

Kaze: I hope it's not too complicated too far ;; I'll try to see what I can do. But you're so violent! ^^;; I don't think there will be any killing of main characters in this story...mainly Zoi is not killing Greg. But Ami can take care of Greg herself.

Lilian: Hey! I really liked your last Ami/Zoi fic...it was awesome ^^. If you can't wait until next chapter to find out who's going where, e-mail me...but I'm glad to hear you like it so much!

Yui: Thanks for reviewing ^^ Don't worry, English is my first language, but I'm not too good at it either ^^;

Kaiya: Nice to hear that the story is original/interesting! I hope so...like being original :) but the idea seems so weird maybe it's good that no one else has done something like this ^^;; We'd be confused out of our minds.

Blue Lady: Taking place in all the universes!! ^^ Sorry to confuse you, though ;;

Amy: I'll try to update Love at Fifth Sight ASAP. But it's always great to see an Ami/Zoi supporter!

Slice: Hey!! ^^ Hope this chapter met your expectations.

Thanks always, Yosh' :)

And expect the next chapter...when schoolwork is not actually ruling my life ^^;; Adios!!

            ~Ice


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